In the Spring of 2018, Lee Ridley was already a popular figure on the comedy circuit. But when he won Britain’s Got Talent in June, Lost Voice Guy suddenly became a name everyone was shouting about. Winning a TV talent contest can take an act onto a whole new level of fame with doors opening more readily than they might have done before.

As he takes to the nation’s stages with a touring show entitled ‘I’m Only In It For The Parking’ – which brings him to The Deco Theatre this Saturday (February 9th) – the County Durham-born Lee found that this was no more truer than in his case .

“The main reason I decided to audition for Britain’s Got Talent was obviously to meet Ant and Dec,” he half-jests. “But I also did it because I thought it would help me develop as a performer. Of course, I never expected to win it. In fact, I had to cancel my summer holiday because it clashed with the final!

“It was definitely worth it though; I think the look on my face when I won said it all. Winning the show has changed my life in so many ways, and as a comedian, I’m busier than I ever was before.

“One of the best things to happen since I won is that people are engaging with me a lot more than they would have in the past,” said Lee. “For the first time they seem comfortable talking to a disabled person. I’m used to being stared at for negative reasons so it’s nice to be stared at for positive reasons for a change.”

While Lee has plenty to say about those who have bigoted opinions about disabled people, he’s just as tough on those who are either patronising or overly keen to elevate the disabled into saints simply for being able to achieve something.

And all of it is done in the most non-Geordie accent you can imagine, all plummy, middle England and computerised, with the voiceless Lee communicating through an iPad app. But why did he pick that particular voice to express his comedy with?

“To be honest, I didn’t have much choice – the app I use to speak only had a limited number of voices to choose from, and my particular voice was the best of a bad bunch,” he said. “I’m quite used to sounding like a posh version of RoboCop now though, and I think the posh accent makes my jokes even funnier. I’ve sounded like this for most of my life now, so I do think of it as being my own voice. I think I’d feel weird if I had to change it now.”

Having started performing comedy in 2012, Lee won the BBC Radio New Comedy Award in 2014 and has created hour-long shows for the Edinburgh Fringe such as Disability For Dunces, Inspiration Porn and Laughter Is The Worst Medicine. He’s also co-written and starred in Ability, a Radio 4 sitcom about a man with cerebral palsy who moves out of his parents’ home, and penned a book which shares the title of this new touring show.

But with all that success on his CV already, where does he see his career going now? “I honestly don’t have any big ambitions. When I first started stand-up comedy, I just thought I’d try it for a bit of fun.

“I never expected to be this successful in my wildest dreams. So, I’m just taking it all as it comes and seeing what might happen next. I’m enjoying the ride and that’s the most important thing.”

Being on tour is something of a ride for any comedian, but for Lee, that adventure has extra obstacles and barriers inherently built into it. However, he is determined to make the most of these opportunities. “I think the best thing about being on tour is getting to see some really lovely places that maybe I wouldn’t have ever visited otherwise, and then getting to meet people from all different walks of life.

“I’ve got a lot of fans based all over the place so it’s nice to be able to get to meet them. One of the worst things is definitely being away from home. I quite like my home comforts such as my bed and being able to sit in my pants and watch television all day. So I miss that when I’m away.”

Audiences, of course, come in all different shapes and sizes, and life on the road wouldn’t be the same without some odd incidents occurring along the way. “You would be surprised at how many people come up to me after gigs and ask if I really can’t speak. Because, of course, it would totally be acceptable to pretend to be disabled for a laugh. I can safely say that I have never been able to talk. I have lived in Newcastle all my life, but for some reason I still haven’t picked up the accent. However, if you are trying to place my accent, it’s from PC World.”

Truth plays a major part in Lee’s comedy and he is often calling out politicians as well as the general public for their negative or dishonest approach to disability. The upside is that he’s rarely short of stories and anecdotes. One instance where he was ordered by a train inspector to give up his disabled seat for someone else inspired his episode on the Sky Arts Comedy Shorts series last year.

“I think most of my comedy comes from my real-life experiences. On the one hand, that’s quite frightening because some of it is unbelievably ridiculous. But on the other hand, it gives me some great material. I’d be silly not to use these experiences, and if I didn’t laugh about it then I’d most definitely cry!”

As the nation is about to find out, it’s not just Lee who’s laughing when his Lost Voice Guy airs his opinions.

A feast of laughter is lined up at the Deco for the new year, headlined by Lost Voice Guy, Lee Ridley, but also bringing to Northampton two of the most highly rated acts on the stand-up comedy circuit, Sean McLaughlin and Ahir Shah.

The 2018 ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ winner Lee Ridley takes to The Deco stage on Saturday Feb 9th, having won rave reviews for his appearance at the recent Royal Variety Performance, which you can see on ITV, on December 11th.

Following Ridley to The Deco five weeks later is rising star of the comedy circuit Ahir Shah, on Friday, March 15th. He is bringing his show ‘Duffer’ to Northampton, which has already started its UK tour, following its critically acclaimed sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe early this year, earning him a second nomination in a row for Best Show, at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

Ahir has won many plaudits for his stand-up comedy, including this recently from the Daily Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/one-generations-eloquent-comic-voices-ahir-shah-control-edinburgh/

And completing a trio of great stand-ups at The Deco is Sean McLoughlin, who comes to Northampton on April 5th. Fresh from opening for Ricky Gervais on tour, McLoughlin – described as “the best comedian you haven’t heard of yet” by Time Out magazine – is taking his acclaimed, smash hit show, Hail Mary, on the road.

As well as providing tour support for Gervais’ record-breaking international ‘Humanity’ tour, McLoughlin was also handpicked to open for Bill Burr at the Royal Albert Hall recently, and for the legendary Doug Stanhope.

He has also made appearances on Stand-Up Central, Comedy Central At The Comedy Store, and his talents have landed him a Chortle Award nomination, and a review by Beyond The Joke as “…the epitome of the skilful stand-up…”

Said Jill Roach, House Manager at The Deco Theatre: “There’s a great appetite for good stand-up comedy in Northampton, and we’re are delighted to be bringing some of the country’s best performers to town, as we did recently with Lauren Pattison, who was fantastic.”

For tickets and more information about all three shows, go to www.thedeco.co.uk, or call our Box Office on 01604 491005

Comedy, Panto, tributes, nostalgia, a traditional Irish knees-up, and some more Forbidden Nights – The Deco Theatre already has a packed programme of top class entertainment lined up for 2019, with lots more to follow.

The comedy comes from the fantastic Lost Voice Guy, otherwise known as Lee Ridley, who wowed the nation earlier this year when he was an extremely popular winner of the ITV talent show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.

Lee brings his touring show – described by critics as “laugh-out loud funny” – to The Deco on Saturday, February 9, one of two great shows that month. A week before, on February 2, The Deco goes all nostalgic for the music of the 1980s, with the hit-show ‘80’s Mania’, that is stopping off in Northampton during a UK tour earning much acclaim.

Another acclaimed kicks off the New Year programme at The Deco, with a celebration of legendary singer Whitney Houston, in the acclaimed show ‘Whitney, Queen of the Night’ on Saturday, January 19; a stunning production that has earned standing ovations wherever it has played, and does total justice to the late, great singer.

In March another singing legend is celebrated at The Deco – The Girl From Tiger Bay, on Friday, March 22nd, is an awesome, and fitting tribute to the great Dame Shirley Bassey. Joanne Copeland has been performing as Dame Shirley since 2002, and has so far taken her show to 25 countries, and her show takes you on a journey through 65 years of Shirley Bassey’s amazing career.

There are two more fantastic tribute nights in April, honouring the music of Madonna on Friday, April 19 in the show ‘Material Girl’, then celebrating the rhythm and blues legend Luther Vandross a week later, on April 26 in the touring show ‘Luther’.

Returning to The Deco by popular demand on March 1 is Forbidden Nights, a show that always attracts 5-star ratings, and which has twice played out to packed houses during previous visits to the Northampton theatre.

Also in March, a great Irish party on Friday the 29th – yet another highly acclaimed production comes to The Deco, with ‘Seven Drunken Nights – the story of The Dubliners’. This is another show that has thrilled audiences nationwide, including London’s West End, and is guaranteed to be an awesome knees-up for all.

And completing a fantastic first four months of 2019 is The Deco’s Easter Panto Spectacular, Beauty and the Beast, over two days on April 10th and 11th. This is the fourth year The Deco team have put on a Spring Panto, which has proved highly popular with local families looking for Easter entertainment.

For details about all Deco shows, visit the website at www.thedeco.co.uk, or call 01604 491005.

The Deco is a magnificently restored 1930s cinema located in the heart of Northampton offering a variety of affordable meeting rooms and functions for corporate, social and theatrical events.

Supervised by English Heritage, the multi-million pound restoration has combined the original, stunning art deco styling with state-of-the-art technology. The 900 seat Auditorium in conjunction with The Doré and The Glen suites make this unique facility both flexible and practical.

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